Participants in the second annual ISBA Solo and Small Firm Conference will be able to choose from among 36 educational sessions, consisting of 12 in each of three concurrent tracks: Tech Track (TT), Office Management (OM), and Substantive Law (SL).

The conference will take place Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 14 to 16, at Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles. See pages 16-17 for complete details.

The program will open at 12:30 p.m. Thursday with a one-hour plenary session. The speaker is Pensacola, Fla., trial lawyer J. Michael Papantonio. His topic is “How to Stay Motivated in the Practice of Law.”

Track programs from 1:45 to 2:50 p.m. are: TT, Buying Law Office Technology 101 – How to Buy Right and Spend Smart; OM, Attracting and Retaining Lawyer Talent; SL, Elder Law Update.

Track programs from 3 to 4:05 p.m. are: TT, Communicating with Clients Electronically; OM, Lawyer Branding – The New Way to Build a Thriving Practice; SL, Immigration Law Update.

Track programs from 4:14 to 5:20 p.m. are: TT, Beyond Search and Replace – Introduction to Document Assembly and HotDocs; OM, Answers to Questions that Keep Lawyers Awake at Night; SL, How to Deal with Client-Related Nightmares.

The opening reception will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the New Orleans Ballroom.

The conference will resume at 7 a.m. Friday with a continental breakfast, followed by a plenary session at 8 a.m.

The speaker is Wayne, Pa., marketing and strategic planning expert Robert W. Denney. His topic is “Significant Trends for Solo and Small Firms.”

Track programs from 10:15 to 11:20 a.m. are: TT, Practice Anywhere, Any Time; OM, Preparing and Protecting Your Firm from Disaster – Lessons from a New Orleans Lawyer; SL, Real Estate Law.

Luncheon is scheduled at 11:20 a.m., sponsored by MBNA, coordinator of ISBA MasterCard and American Express programs. California human behavior author Ann Mahony will speak on “What Makes People Tick.”

Track programs from 1 to 2:05 p.m. are: TT, Acrobat for the Rest of Us; OM, Marketing Your Practice on a Shoestring; SL, Trial Tips.

Track programs from 2:15 to 3:20 p.m. are: TT, Metadata – What You Don't Know Can Hurt You; OM, Show Me the Money – How Finance and Accounting Systems Can Increase Your Income; SL, Family Law.

Track programs from 4:10 to 5:15 p.m. are: TT, Me and my Mac – Apple in the Office; OM, Using Finance and Accounting Systems to Improve Service to Your Clients; SL, Ethics and Professionalism.

Track programs from 5:25 to 6:30 p.m. are: TT, I Talk, You Type – Digital Dictation and Voice Recognition Software; OM, Life on Balance – Staying Energized and Productive; SL, Estate Planning and Probate.

From 6:30 to 9 p.m., a welcome reception in the exhibit area will be sponsored by the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co.

Friday, the final day of the conference, will begin at 7 p.m. with continental breakfast, followed by an 8 a.m. plenary session.

The speaker is Montgomery, Tex., attorney and computer guru Craig Ball. He will discuss “E-Discovery and Computer Forensics for Lawyers Who Can't Set the Clocks on their VCRs.”

Track programs from 10:30 to 11:35 a.m. are: TT, Help! My In-box is Exploding – Dealing with E-Mail Overload; OM, The Silent Thief Stealing Your Future – Forgery; SL, Evidence and Hearsay.

Luncheon is scheduled at 11:45 a.m., with a presentation on “Gizmos, Gadgets and Widgets.”

Track programs from 1 to 2:05 p.m. are: TT, Slaying the Paper Dragon – Scanners and Paper Management; OM, Improving Client Service by Improving Your Listening Skills; SL, Criminal Law.

Track programs from 2:15 to 3:20 p.m. are: TT, Power Persuasion; OM, Preventing Loss in Your Practice; SL, Keys to Effective Cross Examination.

Track programs from 4:10 to 5:15 p.m. are: TT, Building Your Ark – Backup Strategies and Disaster Planning; OM, Lawyer Survival as a Solo – Lessons Learned in the Trenches; SL, Tort Law and Civil Practice.